Danny Gray Man
by No.311
Summary: What starts with an unusual enemy and a headache, ends up throwing Danny in another world-threatening plot. See how Danny travels back in time to the war between akuma and exorcists, and how much significance his actions will have!
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_CHAPTER 1: Prologue._

* * *

With a scream, Dan was sucked in the thermos. Danny stood there for a little while, happy about his victory, when he remembered about the other pressing matter.

"Oh no!" He turned around, just in time to see the cracks forming on the containers of the nasty sauce, his family, Tucker and Sam and Lancer strapped to it with no means of escape. He began to run towards it, trying to transform, but failing.

"I can't go ghost!" He said to himself, slightly panicked, just before he tripped.

"Noooooo!" But it was too late. And Danny knew it was, for he stayed on the ground, sweating, and looking at his family in horror.

The nasty burger exploded.

Danny was blasted away full force by the explosion. The thermos got loose and was slammed into a building at the opposite side of the road, breaking the thermos, and setting Dan free. Danny himself fell on the ground a few meters from where he was blasted away.

He quickly stood up and began to run, ignoring the pain. He had to get away, or the explosion would catch up to him. Or worse, Dan would. He had to escape, and fast.

He ran until he couldn't run anymore. He had escaped the explosion. It was then that he realised the weight of the events, and he broke down, sobbing.

"They're dead. They're all dead!" He started crying full-force, completely ignoring his surroundings.

Until he heard _that_ voice.

"And you know what to do, don't you? You'll go to Vlad, and all will be well… for me."

"I will never go to Vlad, and you know that!"

"Then where will you go?"

Of that, Danny had no idea, to be frank. Would he go to ask Clockwork whether he would turn back time? No. Clockwork tried to kill him, and while he didn't want to become Dan, he wasn't ready to die either. He had to live, for his family, for his friends… and for Mr. Lancer.

"I don't know, but I won't go to Vlad!" He transformed into Phantom. In the back of his mind, he found it funny that only now he could transform, but he pushed it away.

The weeks after that, Danny would live as a nomad. He didn't come to the reading of the will of his parents, because Vlad was there, and he was sure that if Vlad got hold of him, there would be no escape. He was officially declared dead in Amity after three weeks, for his body had never been found, even though the others thought he died in the explosion with his parents, friends and Mr. Lancer.

Danny visited a few major cities in the world, like New York, Paris and London, and a few places in the ghost zone. He also discovered some new places in the ghost zone that he didn't know before.

However, he never settled down. He was afraid that Dan would catch up to him and destroy whatever he had built. For that same reason, he shied away from human contact.

And so the story starts, when once upon a time, Danny was flying into the Ghost Zone…

* * *

_**Hello, the author, No.311 here. I'm going to explain some things about this story. (LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE ALERT)**_

_**1\. I have not abandoned Blue Pirates.**_

_**2\. The story is rated T. There will be deaths.**_

_**3\. I'm not good with genre tags. For now, I've set them to Horror and Angst, because I thought horror fits the -Man universe pretty well, and Angst sounds nice. Kidding, I do have a general idea, but nothing solid about what Angst is.**_

_**So the tags don't necessarily have to match with the contents of the story, and if they don't, please tell me.**_

_**4\. I have a lay-out completely made for the story, so that I can work more efficient. Still, I will not post the whole story at once, so that I can make corrections as I write it. But it should mean that I can update this story faster than I can update Blue Pirates, for I invent that story as I write it.**_

_**5\. If there are author's notes, they are at the bottom.**_

_**6\. I'm open for constructive criticism.**_

_**7\. If you like it, or have questions, review. I always reply.**_

_**That was it. I'll give you the next chapter too, I'm not cruel. Enjoy! This will hopefully be the longest authors note in the story.**_

**No.311**


	2. Chapter 2: The Akuma

_CHAPTER 2: The Akuma_

* * *

Being on the run was harder than it looked. Danny had experienced that first hand. He had been chased from restaurants, stolen from markets, and over all had an hard time. It didn't help that the GIW blamed Phantom of the explosion of the Nasty Burger. Every city in America had been given a code red alarm, and was on high alert for the "Ectoplasmic menace". It made travelling as a halfa a lot harder, especially when they started to check everyone for 'Ectoplasmic Influences', fearing that Phantom may have had the idea of entering cities by overshadowing people.

A small part of his mind could relate with Dan. Even though Dan was already evil when he was created, and he already wanted to destroy humanity, there were probably not many other options open for him. In the end, he moved to Europe, and started travelling there. He even found a job when he was in Rome, but he soon had to quit it, for he had to move to escape Dan.

Now, He was in the Ghost Zone, like he had been for two days already. He had entered the Ghost Zone through his parents' portal, which was, for unknown reasons, still in the lab beneath Fenton Works. Danny did have suspicions, of course. The most realistic one was that the GIW had not been able to override the DNA-lock, so they left it there. His parents were the leading experts on ghost hunting technology after all. The GIW had frequently ripped off his parents' inventions.

He had disguised himself with a hoodie and a new set of clothes as soon as he had beaten the line of ghosts that had been waiting to fight him. He didn't want to fight right now. He was even secretly hoping for a portal to take him away to unknown lands, preferably lands in the 21th century, apart from America. Maybe he could build a new life then, for it was almost impossible for Dan to find him if he took a random portal…

But something was keeping him here, the fear of the unknown. What if he wound up in an alternate reality, where his friends and parents were still alive, but not as the people he had known them to be? What if he met his ancestor in the past, and changed the future? What if he ended up right under the GIW's noses?

No, he wouldn't try the portal just yet, he wasn't that desperate, he decided by himself. But his thoughts were abruptly stopped when he bumped into something.

"Ow, crud." Danny held his head in his hands. Whatever it was, it was hard. He looked up, to see…

A normal human.

"Huh?"

And not one he had seen before.

"Who are you? How did you get here?"

The human, looked in front of him blankly, like Danny wasn't there. It had been muttering too.

Danny inched closer, to hear what the person was muttering.

"…ll….i…k…k…ll…..kill…..Kill….Kill…."

Before Danny could get away, The human suddenly shouted: "KILL!" Then it happened: The human morphed into some sort of balloon, but one that was filled with cannons and had a face, a face with an expression of a permanent silent scream and an upside down star on his forehead.

This was a prime example of a level 1 akuma, a machine in a human's body. Of course, Danny didn't know that. He was busy enough with evading and repelling the bullets that the akuma shot at him. At the same time, he tried to destroy the monster with ectoblasts and ectowaves, though he primarly tried to avoid the bullets. For some reason he got a nasty feeling when he looked at them.

But it was useless. The waves slashed into the monster, and the blasts caused dents, but not nearly enough. The only thing he had left to do was the ghostly wail. But if he used that, he would be more vulnerable after it. He didn't have much choice though. He was getting slower, and his shields, which he occasionally used to block a few bullets, were getting weaker.

He sucked his lungs full of air, and shouted like his life depended on it. It came out as a wail, a ghostly wail. Danny saw the monster was in pain, howling against the wail as if that could stop it, but Danny went through with it. At the very end of the wail, he transformed back into a human, letting out a sigh of relief. But when the smoke cleared, Danny saw that the akuma was still there. Scratched, bruised, slashed, but still there.

Danny almost panicked. He panicked even more when he saw a stray bullet hit an ectopus that was hovering by. Immediately it started screaming, and multiple pentacles appeared on his body, more and more, until the ghost vaporised in thin air.

He quickly transformed back into Phantom, and blocked a few bullets. But his energy was rapidly depleting. Black spots danced before his eyes.

"NO!"

Danny had never been more happy when he heard that voice. Although it wasn't too hard: He had never been happy before when he heard that voice. He evaded another bullet, but suddenly felt pain blossom on his forehead. He had been too busy evading, and lost his sight on his surroundings. Because of that, he had just flown into a rock.

Danny watched Dan arrive, and blast the akuma back. But soon, Danny lost his struggle against the pain and fatigue, and passed out.

(+++++++)

Danny woke up. He had some trouble recollecting what happened, but he quickly remembered all of it. The monster, the ectopus, the pentacles, Dan, the rock…

Dan! He quickly sat up, and looked around. Dan sat right next to him. He immediately glared at him.

"Now, now, don't give me a glare, I saved you, after all." Dan had obviously inherited some of Vlad's patented fake gentlemanly manners.

"Why did you save me, then?" Danny was now trying to stop the light bleeding of his head.

"Because, if you died, I won't happen." He scolded Danny. Danny thought a bit about that statement.

"But I never went to Vlad, so you didn't happen. How're you still here?"

"Come, come, Danny, I thought you knew better than that. Just like all ways lead to Rome, there are multiple ways of becoming me. And I'm here to ensure them."

"Well, I promise you I won't ever let you happen. So don't get used to existing." Danny snapped at Dan, partly because he was angry at himself for letting himself be saved by his Ultimate Enemy. Before Dan could react to that, he flew away.

Dan saw Danny go. He sighed. He felt his existence flickering, like it had done since he had been beaten by his former self. It was as if something was telling him that something would happen soon. He couldn't let that happen, so he took off after Danny.

Danny, however, still had no idea. His first concern was finding something with which he could bandage his head. It was hard to fly away with blood in his eyes after all.


	3. Chapter 3: Light in the Head

_CHAPTER 3: Just a bit Light in the Head_

* * *

Skulker's day had been bad. He had still not found the whelp, his suit broke down, and when he had repaired it, Technus had come by to make fun of him and his "Low-tech" suit. Maybe he should incorporate Technus in his suit sometimes. That would probably teach him a lesson. Of course he wasn't really planning to do this, because who would want a suit who threw your plans at your enemies in a fit of pride? And what would they call themselves? Skulk-Tech? Preposterous.

Of course that all changed when the whelp actually _came_ to him. It was a miracle! But Skulker wasn't above making use of miracles.

"So you give your struggle up, whelp? You finally realised that I _will_ have your pelt on my wall?" The whelp had a strange bleeding wound on his forehead, and that meant he had had a fight already and wasn't at the pinnacle of his strength. Good.

"Never gonna happen. I just want some information, and you were the first ghost I saw that I kind of know." The whelp answered, looking kind of awkward. So the whelp was scared. Good.

"And what makes you think I will give you that information, when I could just as well capture you now?" Skulker allowed a small smirk on his robotic face.

Danny sighed. "Alright, fine. But if I win, can I ask you some questions?" Was that annoyance? Was he looking down on the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter? It was as if he was sure he would beat him!

"Don't you get cocky, whelp!" Skulker ended the conversation with a blast from one of his ectoplasm blasters. No matter what Technus would say, nothing fought better in his opinion than his trusty suit. It was such a shame that the whelp dodged his blast.

Then his prey started throwing ecto rays. Skulker made sure to blast those with a few blasts of his own to negate them. Meanwhile, he targeted Phantom with his other arm and shot a net. Yes, the net was immediately hit by an ectoblast, but Skulker made use of this opportunity to make sure he was out of the way. He was just aiming another net when an ectoblast hit his robotic torso, which started to malfunction and spark in the hit area.

"What's wrong, Skulker, forgot to power up your suit?" Phantom shouted at him, while he wiped the blood off his forehead. It was one of the ghost-boy's usual tactics, bantering so that the other party becomes confused, or enraged. But Skulker already knew about the trap, so he ignored Phantom.

Instead, he answered with another blast to the ghost child's head. Although he had aimed it well, Phantom dodged it. He used the time it took his enemy to dodge, and quickly flew to the side, so that he had the element of surprise for the coming few moments.

His prey was a bit disorientated when he looked back, but he, Skulker, was hit anyway by a stray shot of ectoplasm (it was above his pride to think anything else of it). The whelp reached to his side, where he normally kept that containing device of his, and Skulker laughed when he saw his opponent flinch after noticing that the device wasn't there.

"Not today, whelp!" And he shot a cubical device at Phantom. But Phantom quickly flew to the side before the containment unit could catch him. It was clear to Skulker that he had to use other methods to catch his prey, for these methods weren't going to work. But before he could think of anything, he was hit full-force by another blast, and slammed into a rock, which caused his suit to malfunction completely. That meant that he could do nothing about the fact that Phantom was separating his head from the rest of his body.

Well, at least he had a good fight. Next time he would certainly catch the whelp.

"Okay, now it's time for some questions." The whelp announced, a smirk of triumph on his face, causing Skulker to growl.

(+++++++)

Nobody could deny that Danny was having fun with Skulker. Then again, who wouldn't in his situation. Before him sat one, tiny, green blob of a Greatest Hunter in the Ghost Zone, squeaking about revenge. Although the blob was fierce in his statements, his tiny body and squeaky voice rendered any attempts to take him seriously useless..

Danny let it go on for a few minutes, wiped even more blood off his forehead, and started his interrogation.

"Skulker." The blob snapped his head… body… back to Danny's direction.

"Yes, whelp?" The blob was glaring at Danny now.

"I still want to ask you something." The blob now sighed, and muttered about more revenge. But right now, he (Skulker, the Greatest Hunter in the Ghost Zone) was at the mercy of his enemy, and a quite strong one too.

"Ask, then." The blob said.

Danny thought a little bit about how to ask his question.

"You see, earlier, I met some strange ghost, and I wanted to ask if you knew anything about it."

The interest of Skulker rose immediately. He was a collector of the strange and the unique after all.

"Can you describe the ghost?"

"Well, at first he seemed human, but then he transformed into some strange monster, it looked like a light bulb or a balloon with cannons all over the place."

Skulker could do something with that information, but he needed a bit more.

"Did it have any unique features?"

"Yes, the human face was like it was silently screaming and it had an upside down star –a pentacle?– on his forehead."

Now Skulker got a slightly bad feeling. He had heard rumors about this… creature, but he still needed one more fact to ensure he was right.

"And the cannons? Was there anything about them?"

"Yeah, when one of the bullets hit a stray ectopus, it got a lot of those pentacles all over it's body and it dissolved."

This was bad. If there was any truth in whatever rumor he heard, this was bad.

"And did you destroy it?" Skulker hoped he had.

"No. Well, technically I did. But not really."

"But is it destroyed?"

"Yes."

Skulker, relieved, released the breath he had been holding.

"I've heard rumors about those… monsters, whelp. About the Holy War in the human world. I didn't exist as a ghost yet around that time, but the ghosts who were are happy they are gone. They are called 'Akuma', and they are weapons of mass destruction. They were used by the side of the Noah in the Holy War, and they were made by an unwilling soul, a human body, and the machine itself. Luckily, the Noah side lost to the exorcists, people gifted power to fight the Noah. Those were Dark Times for the human world, although, as I heard, many people were unaware of the war."

"How many of them were there?"

"Millions."

Danny was shocked, he was almost beaten by one of them, not to mention millions of them. He would have to get stronger.

"Varying in degrees of strength, the higher the level, the stronger it was. I think you described a level one."

Danny's eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. Not literally, of course.

"Luckily they're almost all gone now. I've never met one myself. Otherwise I would probably have it as a pelt on my wall!" Skulker squeak-laughed. Danny was a bit disgusted by this, but mostly relieved. He didn't have to fight those things again, with some luck.

Skulker saw that the ghost-child was distracted, and used this opportunity to get away. Little did he know that this was the last time he would see his prey for a while…

(+++++++)

Danny was getting dizzy, he had been flying around to evade Dan, who was getting closer, and find a bandage for his head, but he didn't have any luck. He was also puzzled, didn't he heal faster in his ghost form? It should have been a scab by now. Holding one of his hands against his forehead, Danny's vision began to swim. He blinked, and it was back to normal.

This was getting strange. He hadn't heard anything from Skulker about something like this, he needed more information to stop this strange wound. He flew longer, but he couldn't think of any ghost that would know anything. Well, frankly, it was hard to think at all, he was getting more sluggish the longer he flew around. He shook his head, and tried to regain focus. It worked, albeit only a little. But not for long. Within short time, he was slower than ever, trying to keep hold of his consciousness. He refused to die from blood loss. But his fight was lost, and he lost his consciousness. His last thought was 'Not again…'

While he was unconscious, his body drifted through the Ghost Zone, until it suddenly drifted to a certain pentacle-shaped portal, as if it was pulled to it.

(+++++++)

When he woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he was in human form. The second thing he noticed was that he was being dragged by someone. The third thing he noticed were the carriages and the old fashioned clothes from the people he saw.

Where was he? Not a clue. He had to find that out, and he needed to bandage his head. But when he felt his forehead with his hand, he noticed that it was already bandaged.

"Yes, I bandaged it, it looked like a nasty wound, sir."

Danny turned his head, and saw the face of a white-haired kid. He had a strange marking over his left eye, just like a pentacle. Normally, he wouldn't have cared, but the akuma had a pentacle like that on his forehead, so he made sure to be on edge.

"Where am I?"

"You're in Bristol, in England."

"Where are you taking me?"

"I was taking you to a hospital. I found you passed out at the side of the road, and you were way too cold."

He had been unconscious. Danny figured it was because of the head wound. How he got in England was another matter entirely. It was probably because of the Ghost Zone portals. That meant that he almost certainly had gone to the past too, seeing all those carriages and old fashioned things. Also, he had to get moving. Dan had been so close when he passed out, chances were he was here too. But first the year, luckily he saw a few minutes back. He didn't want to ask his saviour, he wanted to stay inconspicuous right now.

"Well, sorry, but no hospitals for me. I'll think I'll manage from here on."

"If you say so." The boy said. Danny noticed the boy also had a strange hand, with a cross embedded into it.

"Thanks anyways. My name is Danny." He said as soon as he was set down on the ground again.

"Allen Walker, nice to meet you. Maybe we'll meet again."

"Until next time then, Allen." Danny walked away and made his way to the kiosk. Even though he already knew he was in the past, seeing that he was in the 1900's was still something that made his mouth fall open.

He had probably gotten here through a portal in the Ghost Zone. Danny panicked slightly and had the urge to go and search for a way back quickly, until he caught himself. Although he normally would do that, he had nobody to go back to. So why wouldn't he stay for a while? He could get a fresh new start too, and if he was quick he could maybe even shake off Dan for years! Then he would be able to come to terms with what happened on his own, at least. There weren't any ghosts in sight too, so he didn't have to worry about them…

It was decided. He would stay, at least for now.

And so, Danny set off. The first thing he had to do was finding some place to eat and sleep. Then he would go looking for something to do in this new world.

(++++++++)

There was his next target. A boy. He looked around fourteen, fifteen. Perfect. Young people weren't suspected as fast as adults.

The earl giggled. How he liked his job. He didn't do it for the killing per say, because all of mankind descended from the Noah's, and he felt at least enough kinship to not feel happy because he killed one. That didn't stop him to be happy for the creation of another weapon for his cause.

...

Okay, maybe he did like killing normal humans, if only just a little. But, then again, they were soooo corrupted! Nothing at all like they should be!

Yes, mankind had been corrupted, in his eyes. It was time start all over again. He giggled again at the thought. If only it was that simple. Several of these corrupted beings didn't share his view. They said they fought for God, but were blind to the fact that they were just as monstrous as he was. His expression contorted in a sneer. That's why he needed his weapons.

It was a bonus that all of his weapons got different abilities, so he felt like a collector while making them. And he enjoyed that feeling.

But that was enough, he had to be quick. While the boy clearly hadn't overcome his loss yet, the call was number than usual, like he was coping, or repressing it. Chances were that he would return home with one akuma less than expected. Last time that happened was when that boy Allen had awoken his 'innocence'.

The earl moved into view, and came eye to eye with Danny Fenton.

* * *

_**And so Danny comes in the -Man universe. I have my doubts about Allen's character, I find him hard to write, so please give your opinions. Also, if you have questions, or critique: Give them. That way, I can at least learn from mistakes.**_

_**If you liked it, let me know as well. It's good motivation**_

_**I would like to thank all of you who have already favorited and followed.**_

_**That's it for now,**_

_**No.311**_


	4. Chapter 4: The Millenium Earl

_Chapter Four: The Millenium Earl_

* * *

Danny Fenton stared into the eyes of the man, at least where the man's eyes should be, because they were concealed by some small glasses. His attention dropped to the insanely big smile a few times, but for some reason his eyes always returned to the man's 'eyes'. Why would a man with such obvious insanity need to conceal his eyes?

"Good evening, my dear boy... All alone, I see?" The teeth never broke apart. Maybe it was a mask, that would explain some things…

He really shouldn't be talking to the man. "Yes, I am."

"No… Parents, brothers, sisters, mates, no girlfriend?"

"…No…" The reason he came here in the first place came crashing back in his thoughts. No, he was alone. They were dead.

"I've seen that look on your face earlier, you know. Why don't you…" The man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, but wait, I haven't even introduced myself yet! _I_ am the Millennium Earl." He brought one of his hands up to his hat, as if he wanted to take it off, but at the last moment he changed the movement and, with a graceful swing of his arm, tipped his hat to Danny.

"And _you_ are…?"

"Danny."

"_Good_ to meet you, Danny. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" The Earl patted him in the back in a surprisingly moderate way. For some reason, Danny felt like he really should talk to the Earl, even though the man looked so outlandish he could have been a ghost (the possibility wasn't scrapped; Millenium Earl sounded like something a ghost would name himself). Strange…

"Why would I? It's not like it matters to you."

"Why not? As you said, it's not like it matters to me, so why don't you let it all out?"

Danny knew there was something wrong with the way the man convinced him, but he was in no state to really think about it. It was the first time he could stop and think what had happened the last few weeks. His family died. His friends d-died… And mr. Lancer too… He felt tears leaking out of his eyes and cursed himself. He thought he had grown out of that phase, but now he had his doubts about that.

"They, they died…"

If Danny had been looking at the Earl when he said that, he had seen that smile of his grow even bigger, and that his glasses showed a hint of the insane eyes behind them. The Earl had luck on his side this time!

"So you want to see them again?"

"That's not possible." Was the answer, despite that he really wanted to.

"It is. I have the means of letting them see you one more time. But only one of them, I can't do more than that, how much it pains me."

That didn't matter much to Danny, he wanted to see them again. But for some reason, he still had his doubts.

_Ask him how._

"How are you going to do that?"

The Earl conjured up his Akuma skeleton, the pentagon glistening in the moonlight.

"With this! This will house the soul of your dead loved ones, and it will bring them back long enough for you to talk to each other, after which you will have to say goodbye again. It's a one-time chance, unique."

This seemed too good to be true. Yes! He wanted to see them again, even if it was just one of them, and tell them how much he loved them, and whatever secrets he had withheld from them. And now it seemed that was possible! He smiled. He would tell them about those times he hadn't been able to share with them because he was a ghost at that time, or tell them about the wacky inventions his dad had never shown them, or -

_But how does it work?_

"How does that work?" Danny asked, his eyes still in his memories.

"I don't know, I found it, and noticed it could do this. Then I decided to help others with this, to help them become better, and it has never failed me since."

Danny smiled. This man was obviously some saint or something.

"I can imagine it didn't. Although I don't believe you've found it. I believe you _made_ it, Earl."

A green blast was fired from the right and hit the akuma skeleton full force, which was utterly destroyed. Danny's head snapped to the right in fury. The one chance he had to see one of his family or friends again and it was taken from him, just like his family and friends themselves were. Destroyed in a blast. He knew who was behind this, and this time, Danny would not run. Dan had gone too far!

The Earl looked to the right too, and saw Dan. The upper half of his body was enshrouded in shadow, leaving only his red eyes and fiery hair discernible.

"And who might you be?" The Earl said, his grin unwavering.

"I'm the one who will rule the world. Or rather, that kid will be." Dan grinned evilly, so his tooth were now visible along with his eyes and hair.

"So, naturally, you don't get to make an akuma out of him." Danny's head whipped back at the earl. An akuma? That monstrous… thing?! His eyes glowed green in anger. The Earl noticed this, of course.

"Ooh, interesting." His smile widened again, and some part of Danny's mind was wondering if he was even able to not smile. "And _what_ are you then, if I may ask?"

"I don't tell people my secrets, it may come back to, ah… _haunt _me when I decide to dispose of them." Danny couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes, which in turn drew the Earl back to the unnatural glowing of the eyes, and fascinated him even further.

"Interesting… Why don't you join me for dinner at my home for the evening" The Earl proposed.

"Uh, isn't it a bit late for that?" Danny blurted out.

"It's never too late for a late dinner. Now, what do you say?"

"No!" Danny shouted at the same time as Dan said "Sure." Danny looked at Dan in disbelief.

"What? Now that you got stuck here, I have no idea how I should influence you to become me… Yet. And while I wait, for you _will_ become me, why not make it interesting?" Dan smirked as he poked at the Earl.

"But, he tried to make me an akuma!"

"And he's obviously gonna try again during dinner." Dan's voice was full of sarcasm. "That's why he invited you. Now, come."

_Just go with him._

Danny discarded the voice in his head. "No! I'm not coming."

"Are you really sure about that, Danny?" The Earl asked, a slight disappointing tone in his voice.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Okay then. Come along, Mr…?"

"Dan. Dan Phantom. And I must warn you, I get bored easily." Dan smirked at Danny as if he shared some secret with Danny, and suddenly Danny saw visions of the horrible future he had seen, a future destroyed by Dan.

"Oh, don't worry, we have enough ways of relieving boredom." The Earl was still grinning, and Danny realised that in terms of insanity, the Earl might even be above Dan.

He wanted to go far away, away from Dan and the Earl, but he realised that they had just triggered his Hero Complex. He knew Dan had planned it so, but he didn't know if the Earl was helping him. And frankly, that was bad. The earl and Dan together, that would be the destruction of humanity. He couldn't let that happen, even if he had to go with them to ensure it. He sighed, and stood up.

Dan looked backwards as he saw that Danny was following them. Good. This Earl seemed like a right maniac, with no regard for life. How lucky he was, to have found such a psychopath here. He had also succeeded into taking Danny with him, and now he would just have to wait as his and the Earl's influences corrupted him and made his job easier. The only problem was ensuring that the Earl wouldn't become a threat. He would have to time that just right, so that Danny would be corrupted enough and the Earl wouldn't be able to become a danger. But for now, he had succeeded in this part of the plan.

* * *

_**Hello! Tell me what you thought of it, yeah? It helps with motivation, and let's me know when I make mistakes**_

_**No.311**_


	5. Chapter 5: The Ark

_Chapter Five: The Ark_

* * *

"Impressive" Dan whistled at the colossal structure floating some distance before him. The Earl nodded in agreement and approval.

"I don't get it. How is that an ark?" Danny didn't quite see it yet. "It looks like a Rubik's Cube."

The Earl chuckled mischievously. "No, that's just its coating. It looks quite different on the inside, believe me."

Danny eyed the Earl suspiciously, but said nothing. On the trip to the ark, he had tried to find out just how bad the Earl was, but other than some weird chuckles and random expressions here and there he had failed to find out anything. Which was bad, because that meant that Danny couldn't gauge the Earl's level of dangerousness. And he would be stuck with the Earl as long as Dan was with the Earl, because no way in hell would he leave those two without any kind of supervision. The world would end before night fell if he left them to their plans. Well, Dan, at least.

Suddenly, he was forcibly reminded to check the wound on his forehead as soon as possible because it started stinging. He hoped this ark had a bathroom.

They came at some sort of light door, with a number on it. It looked like it could have been beamed down from any kind of Sci-fi movie, really out of place in the century he currently resided in.

"Welcome to my humble abode" the Earl announced while he bowed deeply in a mock bow. "May I take your hats?" It could have been funny if the earls eyes didn't have that glint of madness. Dan had no trouble with that, however: He also wasn't quite right in the head.

"Certainly, if you'd please." Dan laughed. He materialized a top hat of ectoplasm, and aimed it at the Earl, who smoothly dodged it, to fall to the ground a few metres behind him and form a small crater.

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and followed behind the two into the ark. His jaw fell open. He hadn't expected a full ghost town, no people in sight. He marvelled at the sight for a few moments, asking himself why the Earl would need something like this, before snapping out of it, and look around for his host and his future self, sorry, ex-future self. They were nowhere in sight.

(+++++++)

Danny had been walking around for a while (he didn't dare to go ghost and fly, too risky) when he finally had a bit of luck: He found a person. Yes, he had a grey skin and looked completely out of place in this abandoned town in a floating fortress with his full suit get-up, but Danny didn't mind. As long as he knew the way to the dinner and to a bathroom, he was perfect. He walked towards the man.

"Ah, hello? Do you happen to know where I can find the Earl? Or a bathroom?"

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise, like he didn't expect to meet anyone here. Which, in hindsight, made sense.

"Well, yes, of course. Follow me, I'll show you." Danny followed the man.

"Thank you…?"

"Tyki, Tyki Mikk." The rest of the way they stayed quiet, apart from the occasional remark. Until they arrived at a not too shabby house.

"You can find a bathroom in here."

Danny nodded to Tyki as a thank-you, and dived in the house. He found the bathroom without too much trouble, and looked around for some bandages, which he found, strangely enough. Why would there be bandages in a ghost town? But he wasn't about to complain. He took off his old bandages. His wound, instead of scabbing over, had developed in a cross-like form, blood still dribbling out of it. He made a mental note to look into it later, but now he just redid the bandages with skill gained from practice from back when he still lived in Amity, and went outside.

Tyki was still there. "Done?"

"Yes, thanks again."

Tyki began moving again, and Danny followed him. After some time, Tyki decided to kill the silence.

"What did you do to get such big bandages around your head?"

"I had a run-in with a rock."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, it was. I passed out from blood loss some time later. Luckily, someone found me."

"The Earl?"

"No, he was called Allen. White hair, weird scar."

"I see." Tyki grimaced. He had met this 'Allen', and he was stripped of his clothes as a consequence when he had done the same to one of Allen's mates. Luckily he had been able to get his clothes back.

"How did you meet the Earl then?"

Now it was Danny's turn to grimace. "He almost succeeded in making me an akuma."

"Okay, but how come you're here? The Earl doesn't exactly invite everyone he fails to convert to dinner." Although he almost never failed.

Danny raised one eyebrow. "So I'm special, huh."

"Yeah, seems like it, but why?"

"That's personal." Danny wondered how long his secret would stay a secret, with Dan present. It was like having a gigantic sign hanging above him with 'ghost powers' on it.

"I see." Danny couldn't see the slightly sadistic smile that appeared on Tyki's face. He was going to have so much fun in finding out that secret!

(+++++++)

After they had lost (or ditched) Danny, the Earl and Dan had made their way to the dinner table. They were the first to arrive. This presented a great opportunity to the Earl; he doubted that he and Dan would be alone a lot. So he decided to use it.

"Tell me, Dan. Are you a fan of dressing-up? I love it, you should see my hat collection!" The Earl giggled a little. He accepted the cup of tea an akuma maid brought to him and Dan.

"Well, no. I see it as vitally important to have a fear-inducing costume to live up to my name. Dan's my name, destruction is my game, you understand?" Dan sipped his tea, without the smile leaving his face.

"Such a shame. Though you haven't really destroyed much since I met you, haven't you." The Earl glasses glinted.

"No, I didn't. I wouldn't endanger myself after all."

"Ah! How so?"

"That's a good question, but not one I'm going to answer, I'm afraid." Dan sipped his tea again.

"You're not _alike_ much, you and Danny. You said he will be you?"

Dan's smile slipped of his face, to be replaced with a look of displeasure.

"Yes, he will… But the future has taken turns were it hadn't before, and now I'm in a predicament I have never been in before. I'm still here, though, so he will become me. How that will happen, I'm not so sure."

"No, I mean power wise. He doesn't display too much power, unlike _you_."

"That's by choice. He does have it, he just has a human form to cover it up, one I discarded as soon as I realized how worthless it was."

"I see." The Earl sipped his tea, and thought of another question to ask, when he heard a knock on the door.

"Ah, it seems the others are here." The Earl stood up and went to the door.

* * *

_**Has been a while, hasn't it. I think a good few reviews may help motivate me. Also, if you have comments or didn't like it, don't just close the window, tell me why first. It's, amongst other things, a learning experience for me.**_

_**No.311**_


	6. Chapter 6: The Thickening of the Plot

_CHAPTER 6: The Thickening of the Plot_

* * *

This might be the first time he actually disliked a dinner with the Earl. Even when he first joined Tyki hadn't disliked it, how strange and mad the Earl might have seemed to him then. But now…

It had started about five minutes in the dinner. The silence had been broken by a small chuckle, coming from the one participant of the dinner Tyki wanted little to do with. He tried to keep himself from looking, but gave in to temptation anyway (he had never been one to _not _give in to temptation after all), and found that the man had been staring at him. HIM. Red, inhuman eyes, following his every move. He had shrugged it off at first, but found himself glancing at the eyes in question every few moments anyway, hoping that they would be focused on something else. He had no such luck, and the eyes kept following him like a hunter followed its prey. He kept on eating, torn between being afraid and being ashamed and his own actions (he was Tyki Mikk, the Man with the Choice, the hunter, and absolutely not the prey, absolutely not).

Danny saw the whole thing, and glared at Dan, while resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Dan's morbid sense of humor. How he wished he could take care of Dan right now… Strangely, the Earl hadn't taken any action, he wasn't even looking.

Tyki heard another chuckle, and tensed. Settling an uncaring expression on his face, he looked up. There was a toothy grin right under the eyes, with overdeveloped canines, like a vampire of some sort. Tyki gulped.

"Something wrong, Tyki-pon?" The Earl enquired, with a grin slightly bigger than normal on his face.

"No, no, not at all. It's just…" Tyki glanced at Dan, who hadn't stopped smiling.

The Earl looked at Dan too, and then back at Tyki, and his grin widened. "I see."

They ate on for a few moments, before the Earl asked: "Say, Tyki, have you finished your card yet?"

"No, I haven't. I was planning on starting after this dinner, so if you'd excuse me." Tyki looked hopeful, Danny noticed. Probably because of sheer uncomfortableness Dan caused for the man. Danny glared at Dan again, but not too fierce. His mind was on other matters, like that 'card'. Normally, you don't "finish" cards, so this meant that it was possible that the 'card' was some sort of assignment, and if it was, Danny decided he wanted to see what kind of assignment. Danny knew the Earl was up to something, but not what, and he was too hard to read to hope that the Earl would slip up about his plans any time soon. So this was his chance.

"Yes, yes, you're excused. You'd better finish it soon, it's important after all."

"Sure, no problem." And with that, Tyki stood up from his seat, and all but bolted to the door.

Danny waited a minute, and stood up too. "Uh, I have to go to the bathroom."

"That's okay, Danny. If you get lost, ask the servants." The Earl grinned.

Danny made his way out of the room.

"You know that we probably won't see him back here again tonight?" Dan enquired, still smiling.

"Of course I do." The Earl grinned too. "Just like I planned."

(+++++++)

Danny was tense. He was curious about what Tyki was going to do, but also wary. The Earl was a madman after all, and there were not too many kinds of people that would follow a madman willingly. In front of him, Tyki was walking to the portal to the normal world, so Danny waited until he had gone through it to change into his ghost form. Even though it was no secret that he had one (thanks to Dan), he still used it secretly, so that the Earl wouldn't know too much about his powers. Well, the powers except the ones Dan had already shown the Earl. Danny sighed. Sometimes Danny just wished he could beat Dan. Sadly, he couldn't. Not forever.

He went through the door to the normal world, to see Tyki hurry into an alley. He went invisible and followed. Tyki took the card out of his pocket, and started talking to it. Danny inched closer to Tyki, wanting to know what was going on.

"…on your list nearby?"

Danny heard some sad mumbling, and Tyki sighed. "Damn. I hoped this to be quick."

He walked to the bigger street, and went towards a carriage, standing near the place where Tyki had come through the portal.

"Good evening, master Noah, where will it be today?" The driver said, while hurrying out of the building behind him.

"Several stops, Frank, if you don't mind."

A small frown formed on Frank's head. "No, not at all, master Noah."

Frank mounted the carriage and prepared it. Meanwhile, a woman came out of the building, and, when she saw Frank, stopped.

"What is this, Frank?! You're going away again?"

"It's for work, honey, it won't take too long…" Frank tried to appease her. He was successful, but not much.

"It better not! This is the sixth time this month! People are gonna ask what kind of work it is you do, if this keeps up."

"Madam, don't worry, this'll be the last time in a while. But if you'd please, it is urgent." Tyki had noticed the commotion.

"Alright, alright. But this isn't over!" The woman went inside, grumbling. Tyki boarded the carriage again, and they left. Danny, in a split second, dove into the carriage. He didn't know how long they would be travelling, and he didn't want to put his stamina to the test.

(+++++++)

"I'm afraid there is no other way." The Earl grinned.

"I see. What a strange coincidence." Dan grinned right back.

"No. As I told you, I can feel it when it happens or is about to happen. I just knew it from the start." The Earl gestured to an unseen Danny.

"You've beaten me there, Earl. Even inviting us to your arc. Taking the advantage of the home field was a smart move." Dan whistled.

"I also enjoyed it, you know. You're a decent fellow. Such a shame that your goals interfere with mine."

Dan chuckled. "Likewise. Shall we go then?"

"We shall. Follow me." The Earl stood up and went to the door.

(+++++++)

"Are you Johann von Stofeldt?" Tyki asked, with a nice smile on his face. Danny felt his stomach rising in his throat. Something was happening.

A man in a black suit looked towards Tyki, his eyes growing wide. "N-No?"

"Yes he is!" A smothered cry sounded from the card.

"Ah. How to put it. You're on my list, so goodbye." Tyki thrust his hand forward towards the man's chest, and then _through _the man's chest. Danny's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then the hand came out again. It was holding something, something red, something moving…

Danny flew away as a spear, going to the nearest corner, and threw up.

Then he went back to Tyki in anger, in fury. His ghost form? Not a problem. Tyki's weird power? He'd deal with it. Right now he wanted answers, or he was going to beat the crap out of him. How dare he kill someone!

"Tyki!" Tyki looked up from the man's bag, innocence still in it, to find the owner of the familiar voice, to no avail.

"What the crud was that?!" The voice sounded near, but Tyki didn't see anyone. Suddenly, he was yanked of the ground, and carried towards an abandoned house by two remotely hand-feeling things.

There, he was smacked down on the ground. Danny suddenly appeared before him from nowhere, although it wasn't quite Danny.

"Don't move. One move and I'll kick your ass." It didn't hold much power as a threat, but the green glare in the eyes took care of that fact.

"First question. What was that." Tyki wasn't afraid. Far from that. But he guessed this was Danny, and he guessed Danny was powerful. It would be stupid and a chore to get into a fight now, while knowing nothing about what Danny was capable of. This didn't look like innocence, if it was, he'd know.

"My job."

"What kind of job means you have to kill people?" It was said more as a statement than as a question.

"I'm an assassin."

"For whom?"

"The Earl."

"Why? Why would you kill innocent people for the Earl?" Oh, the irony. _Innocent _people.

Tyki laughed. "You don't know the half of it, do you?"

"Then _tell _me."

"The long or the short version?"

"The long one."

"Okay. So, a few thousand years ago…"

(+++++++)

Dan dodged another swipe of the great black sword. He had found out that his intangibility wouldn't work against it, so he was forced to dodge. Blocking it was almost impossible. He shot another ectoball towards the Earl, to catch him of guard, but it failed. He had already used his Wail two times. The first time, the Earl just waited until it was over, and the second time, the Earl suddenly appeared at his back. For the first time since his rebirth, Dan didn't know whether he was going to win. He took some distance from his opponent, to look for openings. He found none. Behind the Earl's glasses, his eyes were narrowed in a way that transformed the Earl's mad grin in a maniacal grin.

Suddenly Dan saw the Earl's concentration falter, and he shot another blast towards the Earl. A hit! The Earl's clothes were smouldering at his side, and he brought his free hand to the spot. Dan used this time well, and turned invisible. He flew to the back of the Earl, and prepared another ghostly wail, imbuing it with some of his fire element. He took a deep breath, and everything seemed to slow down.

The walls of the round room they were in was littered with holes and splatters of various colours, green, purple and red the dominating ones. The floor much the same, but most of the holes were at the side the Earl had occupied at the beginning of the fight. The window above the door was shattered. Light streamed in through a massive hole in the wall, destroyed by an attack from Dan which the Earl had reflected. Before him stood the Earl, sword in one hand, his other hand raising from the wound Dan had inflicted him. The wound was covered by a purplish crystalline substance. Dark Matter, Dan recognized, if only because of the blasts the Earl had shot at him. The Earl turned head around, but he was too late. Dan let loose his Wail, right in the Earl his back.

(+++++++)

"…and that's most of the story." Tyki finished. "I have some Innocence here, if you want to see it."

"Show me." Danny said, not as mad as before, but still frowning.

Tyki took the bag of the exorcist which still contained the Innocence, and showed it to Danny.

"See, this is Innocence, and it has to be destroyed. It makes us seem the evil group, for we have to kill the hosts to get the Innocence, while in reality it's just the Innocence's way of hiding behind meat shields." Tyki crushed the Innocence with his fingers.

For a while, Danny just sat there, thinking about the story Tyki had just told and proven to him. Then, another question filled his mind.

"But what about…" He was not able to finish it, however, because his head exploded with pain.

(+++++++)

This time it was the Earl that took his distance. "My excuses," he said "but it seems that my presence is needed elsewhere right now. You are a fearsome force of power, my friend, and if this was a duel, you would perhaps even been able to beat me. Sadly, this isn't a duel.

Suddenly, the door was blown open. Dan could only describe the creatures that entered as creepy. They were the kind of creatures you would find in an haunted house, or behind a door in the Ghost Zone. He had seen them, not many of them, but still he had seen a few of them while he searched for Danny. He knew he was now on the losing hand.

"Go, my akuma 3 !"

(+++++++)

While Tyki's Noah was almost dancing from joy, Tyki himself was stressed. Danny was losing a lot of blood, even for a Noah Awakening. And it was all green! That was bad, wasn't it?

He bandaged it as good as he could, but green marks were still visible through the bandage. Luckily for him, it seemed that the blood had stopped flowing. Suddenly, a door from the ark appeared, and the Earl came out.

"So he has awakened!" The Earl said pleasurably.

"Yes, he has. You felt it, didn't you?" Tyki said to the Earl.

"Of course I have. Now get on with your job, I'll take care of him. I'll see you back in the ark."

"All right, all right. But I want some extra free time after that."

"Of course, Tyki-pon!" The Earl said teasingly.

"Don't call me Tyki-pon!" Tyki said half-heartedly. He knew it when it was a lost case.

(+++++++)

"What the?! You're… Cheating Boy 'A'?" Tyki really was shocked. He hadn't thought that 'Allen' would be an exorcist. Actually, he thought that 'Allen' was an harmless old man.

"HUH?!" Allen was completely blown of his rocker by this sudden break of the tension.

"Actually, could you be Allen Walker?" Allen kept glaring. "Oh, I see, you don't recognize me as I am now." Tyki said, as if the serious stuff just moments earlier hadn't happened. Allen couldn't cope with that, and slapped him in the face.

(+++++++)

Danny sat up, his forehead throbbing with pain. The wave of dizziness hit him hard, and he quickly rested his back against the front of the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

Next to him sat the Earl, Dan strangely absent (really, he had expected them to be best buddies by now), with another girl, which he didn't know.

"Like my head has been violated by lots of drummers."

The Earl chuckled, but it didn't sound as crazy as the other times. "That, of course, is to be expected."

"What happened to me?"

"You were reborn. I'm here to welcome you to the family."

Danny did a double-take. "What did you say? Reborn?"

"Yes, take a look." The Earl handed him a mirror, which he held before his face. The face that was staring back still looked like his face, but the differences were obvious. His skin was dark and greyish, and stigmata now adorned his forehead.

* * *

**It's been a while, some vacations, a laptop maintenance and such happened, so I was unable to update.**

**A bit of an experiment in writing style today, let me know what you think! Also, for if I haven't said it yet:**

**I don't own D. Gray-Man or Danny Phantom. **

**This counts for the whole story.**

**No.311**


	7. Chapter 7: Coping with the Change

_CHAPTER 7: Coping with the Change_

* * *

_Danny did a double-take. "What did you say? Reborn?"_

_"__Yes, take a look." The Earl handed him a mirror, which he held before his face. The face that was staring back still looked like his face, but the differences were obvious. His skin was dark and greyish, and stigmata now adorned his forehead._

"I understand this will take a while to take in, so we'll leave you alone for now. If you have any questions, ask Road." The Earl gestured to the girl next to the Earl, who pointed to herself. She had spiky hair, and wore a dress. She didn't look older than 12, at most.

"If you want, you can participate in tonight's dinner, but we won't force you. Just make yourself comfortable." With that, the Earl left. Road stayed in the room, seating herself on a chair in the corner. She took a lollipop, and started sucking on it.

For a moment, Danny sat there, in his bed, looking at his now grey hand, and then It all crashed down on him. He was a Noah. He of course knew which family the Earl had meant, Tyki had explained it in detail. Also, Tyki was a Noah. They were in a war! God, he wasn't ready for a war. Why him! And why was he on the side of the Akuma? How could Tyki even bear to work with them? How would _he_ bear to work with them?"

_Ah, but that's simple really. They have already been converted. Why not use the akuma?_

Danny was going mad. He knew it! He was already hearing voices in his head. Still something was off. It was like he had already heard this particularly sarcastic tone of this voice before.

_You have. But really, why so panicked? Isn't this a good thing?_

Danny didn't know. He wanted to say it was, he really wanted… But the war, the akuma…

_Oh, get over it. They're just humans._

Danny bolted upright. How could he think something like that. _He_ was human.

_Noah. You're a Noah._ The voice in his head persisted. _You're pure. Don't ever compare yourself with that corrupt lot…_

"SHUT UP!" Danny shouted.

In the corner, Road flinched. She took the lollipop out of her mouth. "Something wrong, Danny?"

"No, not at all. Sorry." Danny said, a bit shaken. What was wrong with him. Why did he have a voice in his head? What did it mean?

_If it makes you feel any better, I'm you. I'm the part of you that wants to win, that wants to achieve, the part that would do anything for your loved ones. I'm the part of you with the age-old memories, voiced by your subconscious to help you on the way! Just trust in me, all will be good._

No way. No way in the Ghost Zone. He would never even think about using akuma to help his loved ones! This was a trick!

_A part of you __would__ use akuma. Focus! You're in a war! Sacrifices have to be made, why don't you make them count? And what difference would it make anyway? Humans are far worse than akuma! They kill without our orders, without our heavenly goal! They kill because of pleasure!_

No! He wouldn't give in, he wouldn't listen!

_They…_

Danny ignored it, tuned the voice out. He turned to the girl.

"Um, Road, was it?" The girl nodded, and shifted in her seat. "Yes?"

"How do you change back? I've seen Tyki do it." Road looked at him strangely.

"I dunno, never really thought about it. Comes natural, I guess."

"Ah." Danny had no idea how he was supposed to. Change back. Nope, didn't work. He tried to feel for something inside of him, something he hadn't felt before, maybe it would be his Noah form. But when he found it, it seemed to evade him, as if it didn't want to cooperate.

_Why would you change back anyway?_

That voice again! Because he was human, that's why! In anger he went to his ghost core instead, forcefully letting the rings wash over him, not even trying to hide it from Road.

When he opened his eyes, and looked at his hands, he knew he had succeeded. Instead of the grey hand, he saw his white glove. He sighed in relief, feeling the absence of the voice, for now. He let the rings wash over him again, what he normally did to change back to his human form.

He kept his eyes closed a little bit longer than necessary, but when he opened them, he saw that he had succeeded. He sighed in relief.

"You know, you should be proud of being a Noah. What does a human have that a Noah doesn't?"

Danny ignored her.

"Fine, if you're gonna be like that." Road turned to leave the room. "If you wanna come to dinner…?"

"Yeah, sure." Danny said, a little out of it, while he stood up.

"Follow me then!" Road smiled at him, and exited the room, Danny in tow.

(+++++++)

"Ah, Road, Danny! How nice of you to come!" The Earl's smile seemed to be even bigger than it normally was. "Just in time for the main course too! Sit down, you two."

Danny went to sit next to Tyki and a man who looked like he'd tear anyone who would dare to stand before him apart, munching on sweets like they had personally insulted him.

"Danny, let me introduce you to Skinn Bolic. Skinn is the Wrath of Noah." The Earl motioned at Skinn, who looked at Danny and grunted. Danny smiled a little uncomfortably at him.

"Those two over there are the twins. They're the Noah of Bonds."

"Hiya, newbie!" The black-haired one… said. "I'm Devit, and that's Jasdero!"

"Nice to meet ya, hee!" Jasdero shouted. "Together, we're Jasdevi! I'm sure you won't mind giving us all your money!"

Danny sweat-dropped. "No. I don't have any anyway."

"It's all that bastard Cross' fault! And he won't even help us!" Jasdero shouted, while Devit looked absolutely livid.

"Well, you _were_ assigned to kill him, so he's your responsibility." The Earl said, his glasses twinkling and his face looking mirthful.

"Shut up!" Devit shouted.

"Yeah!" Jasdero shouted, and they both became silent, while glaring as if the world had personally destroyed their guns.

"So, what now? I mean, I'm a Noah, I get that, but what now?" Danny said to nobody in particular.

"Now," the Earl said, "were gonna explain which Noah you are, and what our plans are." He smiled. "And _then_, we're gonna eat." At the other side of the table, the twins quickly gulped down the food in their mouths.

"Okay, so what Noah am I?" Danny was quite curious. It even felt like Christmas… Danny stopped his thoughts there. He didn't like thinking about it. It brought up painful thoughts about his family and friends.

"You, Danny, are the Noah of Bravery." Danny nodded his head.

"Hey, Earl, aren't you forgetting something?" Tyki said in an annoyed tone. "We want to know too!"

"No, I'm not gonna spoil it! He needs to do it himself, all of you have too!" The Earl's glasses glinted.

"You know it's tradition, Tyki." Road said. "But if you make all my maths homework for the rest of the year, I'll tell you what his powers are…"

Tyki's jaw dropped. That was an impossible demand, he hadn't even gone to school! "Danny, please tell me you'll help me!"

Danny looked in disbelief at Tyki. "Really? Why me?"

"You're the only one left to ask! The twins haven't gone to school either, my brother won't help and Skinn worked at a dockyard!"

"But she probably won't tell me either way! Why would I have to do it?" Danny said.

"I will teach you poker!" Tyki offered desperately.

"Wait, you have a brother?!" Danny did a double-take.

"I'm sure you'll solve this problem, but this isn't the time. Our plans are more important now ❤ ." The Earl intervened. Everyone suddenly straightened.

"As you may or may not know, we are changing our Ark, because Neah…" The Earl looked sad for a moment, before he composed himself again. "Neah betrayed us and anchored the Ark, leaving us unable to move it, while giving that ability to an unknown person. So, we have to change Arks, and download all important stuff, like the akuma egg, onto our new ark. How long still, my lovely Road?" The Earl looked at Road, while he blushed.

"It's almost finished." Road said with a devious smile.

We also have the exorcist Lenalee Lee captured," The Earl's face turned devious as well, "for she may hold the heart. She is to be deleted with the old Ark. If she has the heart, it will be deleted with her."

"We also have some, intruders, but don't worry, they'll also be deleted." The Earl said, mainly to Danny. "Now, with that said, have fun, and don't forget to pack your clothes!"

Tyki looked at Road, who nodded. "Can we also have fun with the exorcists?"

"Yeah! We want to kill some as retribution for Cross' debts!" Devit shouted.

Skinn grunted.

"Of course, my children! As long as you come back alive ❤." The Earl said.

"Sure, I have the perfect plan. You in, Danny? Road and the others all agreed to come too."

"Maybe, but not immediately. I still have some things to do." Danny said.

Tyki's face turned a bit disappointed, but he agreed anyway. "I'll come get you when the real fun starts." With that, he stood up, and disappeared through the hall's door.

(+++++++)

Breathe, in, out, in, out. Silently, Danny searched for his Noah side. He had to be able to do this, after all, and, as expected, he found it, in the form of the loud shouting of his obnoxious Noah side. He pulled it forward, and saw his hands change from skin-coloured to grey.

_You're horrible, you know that. I only want what's best for you!_

But not how Danny wanted it. That was the problem.

_Hypocrite. You know, deep inside you, that this is the right way. I'm part of you, remember, not like Dan, who had been you once, but has grown out of it._

Suddenly Danny was wondering where Dan was. He wasn't at the dinner, and he shuddered at what Dan could be doing right now.

_You know, you're too ignorant. If you hate Dan for what he's done, why don't you hate Tyki, for example? We, the Noah, Tyki included, have done many things you wouldn't approve of._

Dan conquered mankind and used them as slaves.

_We flooded the world, effectively killing all its inhabitants._

Tyki was his friend.

_Even though he uses akuma and kills people?_

Yes.

_So you would protect him?_

Of course he would protect Tyki, same as all his other friends! Why wouldn't he?

_But he is participating in a war. How are you going to protect him, when every exorcist is out for his blood, and also for your blood._

He has his ghost powers.

_Don't underestimate the exorcists! Their powers are versatile, and if they team up against you, you would lose. What can one ghost do against an whole __**order**__ of exorcists? Face it, you'll need me, you'll need the akuma. Humankind is corrupted, and at its core stands the innocence. It's Tyki's, your's and the Noah's job to purge that corruption and restart mankind. You'll need all the help you can get. Now is not the time to hold on to your petty morals._

Danny frowned. There had to be an answer to that, but he couldn't find it. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door.

"Hey Danny, the exorcists are almost at the tower. If you wanna join us and welcome the exorcists, now is the time!" Tyki said from the other side.

_This is a good opportunity. Go with him, and see what the exorcists are already capable of. You'll understand the urgency of the matter after that. _

Danny sighed. "Coming!"

(+++++++)

**That was it for today. Let me clear up one thing: Any 3 you find in this fic is meant as a heart. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Also, I would like some more feedback. It seems like I'm doing something wrong with this story, as for how little response I get. This, of course doesn't count for DreamweaverAki, my awesome proofreader/beta, and the people who did review and favorite.**

**And if I did something wrong, your silence isn't gonna change it.**

**Till next time!**

**_No.311_**

_**(guest reviews will be replied to next chapter)**_


	8. Chapter 8: The Exorcists

_CHAPTER EIGHT: The Exorcists_

* * *

He may not have been quite sure whether he agreed with this side of the war, but he doubted that the exorcists could make hamburgers this nice. It was heavenly, Danny thought once again, while he took another bite.

Beside him, Tyki and Road where eating too, although he got some curious looks from Road.

"Is it really that good?" She asked Danny.

"It is. How did you get food this good anyway?" Danny asked in return.

"We have a few Akuma who had been cooks while alive." Tyki interceded. "We have allowed them to continue their work in our ranks."

Danny almost choked. He was against akuma. He refused to have anything to do with them. Gingerly, he put the burger down.

_Hey! Why don't you eat it! Come on! This is the best thing we've ever tasted!_

It's made by akuma, Danny objected.

_Well, you not eating it doesn't mean it's suddenly unmade by akuma. It's a waste of good food!_

But… akuma…

_Yeah. Akuma. __Happy__ akuma who __love__ to cook. We let them do what they liked. It's downright rude to judge their food because they are akuma. Seems familiar, doesn't it? Judged because of what you are._

He had him there. Danny sighed and continued eating his burger.

Then, the door opened, Road ran towards it, tackled the first one who entered in a hug and kissed him, with a cry of "ALLEN~!" The other exorcists looked in shock.

Allen… That name was familiar to Danny. When Road let go and he got a good look, his eyes widened. It was Allen! His saviour!

_And now our enemy. Focus! If you really want to associate with him, you can do so when you're not in your Noah form._

"Did you really like the boy that much?" Tyki said. His card was flying next to him, mumbling about Allen.

Danny was eyeing Allen when Road denied Tyki a kiss, but he stopped when the red-haired one nudged Allen and pointed at him.

"What are you waiting for? Sit down. We got hungry while waiting, so we have already started, but why don't you have dinner with us?" Tyki offered. Allen glared at him.

"I have to refuse. I take my time to eat when I have it."

"Time? Do you want to know what you have left?" Tyki teased.

"Outside." Road continued teasing "It's a superb view…" The exorcists heads snapped towards the window and went to look. Danny wanted to go too, but got held back by Tyki.

"I don't think you even have an hour… Only the tower is left."

While the exorcists where distracted, Road locked the door. "Sit down."

Tyki continued. "Take a seat, exorcist. Or are you scared?"

Allen sat down and shot a small, wary glance towards Danny.

_I think this may be the perfect moment for us to start with our other hamburger._

Danny rolled his eyes, but gave in anyway. The hamburgers where just too good.

The rest of the exorcists sat down too.

"It looks like we finally take our time to talk, boy." Tyki said. Allen glared at him. "Don't make that face." Tyki continued. "I haven't set any traps, didn't I say there'd be no cheating?"

Meanwhile, Danny started to blush a little over the obvious flirting from Road to Allen.

_It is pretty straightforward, isn't it?_

"My door is prepared to lead you all out of here." Road said.

"…It would be pleasing if it led us properly outside as well." Allen shot back. Road laughed shortly.

Allen turned back to Tyki. "What is it you wanted to discuss, Lord Tyki Mikk?"

Danny tuned out the talking, and took his time to assess Allen's companions.

_Assess them? Good choice. It'll always be handy to assess them before you strike._

Shut up, Danny thought towards his Noah-side. He was not going to fight them, but he didn't think they were going to let him just walk away either.

_…__At least you have a decent head on your shoulders. But why not fight them? They are surely going to attack Tyki, don't you want to help him? Was he not your friend? Are the Noah not your family?_

But why would he fight them? What had they done to him?

_Danny, seriously, I'm almost embarrassed for you, for myself. This is no scuffle between you and a ghost. They can't be reasoned with. They will take every chance to kill you, because this is war, and you are involved, whether you like it or not! You are their enemy, so they should be yours. _

I will not hurt innocents.

_Fine, if you want to be that way. But don't blame me when this goes awry._

He was jolted out of his subconscious when Allen dug his claw into a tease.

"If you lay a hand on my comrades any more than this, I may end up killing you."

He looked positively menacing, and Danny could feel the tension, even though he wanted to deny it.

_You see it, don't you._

He saw it. But he wouldn't fight him. Allen saved him, he was more than just a stranger.

_What happened to your I don't kill innocents? A stranger is something else than an innocent, as you know._

Allen vaulted over the table towards Tyki, who blocked with his tease.

"Let's have this last dance, boy."

_And what do you do now, eh? Your 'friend' has attacked your other 'friend? Wasn't Tyki your friend? Are you going to let him get hurt? _

No… Danny let his hamburger fall to his plate, as all went to hell. He saw Tyki push back Allen, who had just attacked Tyki, his friend…

_But attacking Allen, who is your other friend, is out of the question? Between a rock and a hard place._

No… He saw Tyki taunting Allen ("Are you happy we agreed to kill eachother?") He saw Allen deny that happiness, claiming that he lamented Tyki's absence of humanity…

_But we both know that humans don't have any humanity left either. Besides, we, the progenitors of the human race as we know it, basically define humanity!_

That was wrong… This was all wrong… But how could he… Who did he have to stop?

"Lenalee! Chaoji!" He looked to see them, he presumed, float in a giant dice, unable to do anything as Road singled the other one out. It was ruthless, but it couldn't shake him out of his indecisiveness.

He saw Tyki release his tease unto Allen, and he saw Allen block them with some kind of belt. He saw Tyki explain his ability…

_Good for you, __**boy**__, maybe you can let the grownups handle this. Do you need them to say, 'here are the baddies' for you to, so you don't have to decide for yourself who you fight? Because you clearly can't._

Shut up! Shut up! He looked up to see Allen beat back another volley of Teases from Tyki, while counterattacking, or trying to…

_It's clearly Allen who has taken an initiative in this battle. Attack him, now._

But Allen was his friend…

_You're still naïve. That is not bad, no. But not desirable. For you to live up to your true potential, I will get it out of you. Act, you coward! ACT!_

No… He saw Tyki attack Allen and blast him back…

_Ooh, nice one._

No, not true… He saw Allen give a speech, and do something with his arm.

_This is bad. ACT!_

No! Tyki laughed…

_ACT! _

Who should he attack?! Tyki fired his cannon, and trapped Allen in a vacuum.

_ACT! YOU GODDAMN COWARD! WILL YOU SEE BOTH OF YOUR FRIENDS DIE?! MAKE A FUCKING CHOICE!_

Then he saw a cross-shaped light glint from within the vacuum…

**_NOW!_**

The world seemed silent as Danny watched the vacuum be overpowered, Tyki be overpowered by Allen, Allen slashing Tyki… Slashing Tyki, Slashing Tyki, Slashing Tyki…

"I'm GOING GHOST!" He let the light flow over him as he fought back tears, blaming himself, blaming Allen, blaming Tyki, blaming his Noah…

_That sword…_

Danny screamed. A ghostly wail blasted everyone back, Allen and Tyki included. Tears drippled from Danny's chin. Why? Why? Why? Why?

"WHY!" He wailed once again. Some part of him wondered why he didn't feel less powerful, but the larger part of him focused on assaulting Allen with his ecto-powered fists.

_Very good, boy. While I don't like Bedsheet Boy, I'll give you a boost._

Whilst Danny couldn't see it, stigmata appeared beneath his snow-white hair, which earned him a gasp from the captives in the dice. Road, while interested in viewing the first time Danny showed his cards, took the chance to remove Tyki from the ark.

Danny charged another ectobeam at Allen, who swung his sword at him.

_DODGE!_

Danny flew in the air just in time, and fired the bolt towards Allen.

_Boy, I have a plan. But you'll have to change back into human form for it to work._

Never. He powered up another ectobeam, but used it to hit Allen who blocked them with his cape.

Danny blocked the belt that shot out and jumped back to avoid another slash of the sword.

"You're still so young, and yet, you have lost your humanity and let yourself in with these lot."

"Shut up. You hurt Tyki!"

"I only hurt his noah."

"It hurt him too! Don't act as if you're innocent!"

"They want to destroy the world, don't you realize it!"

_Not destroy, purge. We want to cleanse it from the evil and the wicked, and the meat shields and the manipulative cubes that use them as such! It's just like giving the world a bath. And deep inside, you know it needs a bath, boy. And you know that the exorcists are standing in your way. You want to beat him, don't you? It is charged, you've fought enough. Change back._

NO! He closed in again, on Allen, who tried to block but was stopped by Lavi, who had awoken from the dream and was attacking Allen.

_This is your chance! Change back, and I'll show you how to make use of your power, your birthright! Together, we can show him how outclassed he is._

Show him? Danny took his distance, ignoring the cries of Lenalee for Allen to look out and for Lavi to stop, and changed back into human. You could beat him. Show me how.

_Good choice._

"STOP IT!" Danny was startled, and looked up to see that Lavi had slammed Allen back.

_Perfect. Now, feel the power in your arm. Concentrate all your wants and thoughts in your arm. You want power, don't you. Concentrate the desire for power in your arm._

He wanted power. Power. He felt something like an ectoblast charge in his arm.

_You are the Noah of Bravery. It is you who gains power by doing the impossible, by being brave. By fighting the quick and the powerful, by fighting the people who are more powerful, by racing against the people who are faster, by challenging your betters and showing your ambition and your bravery, you will gain power. And this beam is how you get it._

A dark light shone from his hands. He saw Lavi stab himself.

_It can also cripple those who were foolish enough to challenge you, but are weaker, and weaken those who are stronger, although not permanently._

He fired, and hit Allen right in his chest. Just as Lavi used his Fire Hammer on himself, Allen collapsed and Lenalee cried out. Then, all became silent, except for Lenalee's sobbing. Chaozii's mouth was open in shock.

_You have done well. Your power has increased to the next level. How do you feel?_

Sad.

_There is still a hamburger…?_

Numbly, Danny sat himself down, and began nibbling at his hamburger absentmindedly.

_You have done the right thing, boy. You should feel proud. You have saved Tyki, and Pleasure._

…

_It's so good, this burger… Let's ask who made it later, right?_

…

"FILTHY NOAH!" Chaozii shouted, though it sounded a bit muted through the dice. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ALLEN!"

_Don't mind them._

Suddenly, the dice disappeared, and Lavi stopped his attack, as he collapsed, severely burned.

_Just use the beam, here, let me do it._

Danny nodded as he felt his arm lift itself and shoot Lenalee and Chaozii. They both collapsed.

_They were weaker than you, so you didn't have to fight them._

Danny took another bite, in a ravaged room.

(+++++++)

"Hmm?" A skull had walked into the now-crumbling room, disrupting Danny from eating his fifth hamburger. He had calmed down somewhat, but was still a bit sad. He was still waiting for Road, for he didn't have any other means for leaving the ark.

_Don't fret. We Noah never leave one of ours behind. You've made the right choice._

The skull walked over to Allen, and poked him with… a gun?

"Do you mind if I take him for a minute?"

_That gun, it's innocence, we have to stop him! But he is way stronger than you, so I think you have to use your ghost form._

Danny stood up. "I do, sorry." He changed to ghost form. His energy was low, he hoped Road would come back soon.

"Ah, such a shame." Out of nowhere, a coffin appeared. It opened, and beautiful but bone-chilling music sounded from it, making Danny shiver involuntarily. Suddenly, all the exorcists disappeared.

"I've taken them anyway. What are you gonna do about it, kid?"

Danny flew towards the skull, an ecto-powered fist ready.

"You're slow, had a long night?" It taunted. And then it fired his gun. He shot his ectoblast at the bullets, but they withstood it and hit him anyway. He fell to the ground and changed back.

"You know, I wouldn't mind letting you live. You seem like an interesting fellow."

He shot Danny again.

"Sadly the higher-ups wouldn't agree with me. Shame you're still so weak."

The pain was unbearable, and just as he was about to faint, he saw the Earl falling down on a piece of rubble. He smiled. It seems like he had made the right choice after all.

* * *

**Yes, yes, I know I'm late. I lost inspiration for a while, (because copying chapters into a chapter is truly tedious,) and went on with Ouranos Potter.**

**To all the guest reviews who say I don't update enough, I confess I should have done this earlier. I won't make any promises for the rest, just that I will finish it one day. I will not leave half-written stories hanging around on this net. It may take a while though.**

**On a happier note, I truly enjoyed writing Noah!Danny versus Danny, and I like the way this chappie turned out. Also, there is a new D Gray Man chapter out.**

**See you next time,**

**No.311**


	9. Chapter 9: The Complication

_CHAPTER NINE: The Complication_

* * *

_"__Nooooooo!" He saw the cracks appear on the nasty burger sauce container –Himself facing off to Skulktech—Meeting Clockwork—Meeting Dan—Wailing… So much Wailing— And the container exploded as he didn't reach it in time… The world, destroyed in the future—Valerie—The dome around the city—Mr. Lancer—Nasty burger sauce…_

_Laughing in the background… Evil red eyes…_

_Dan._

_"__Just like all the ways lead to Rome, there are multiple ways of becoming me. And I am here to ensure them… ensure them… ensure them…"_

_Ensure them?_

_"…__or rather… that kid will be…"_

_Will be?_

_"__They want to destroy the world, don't you realize it!"_

_Cleanse…Purge…Bath…_

_"__We flooded the world, effectively killing all its inhabitants."_

_Where was Dan? Did the Earl kill him? Why did he have to die?_

Danny shot up, eyes wide open, with a shout of surprise, to find that he was in some kind of dark space.

"He is scared! Let us help him immediately! Don't worry, citizen! We will help!"

Someone behind him sighed. "You can help, although I don't think he needs it, but don't you even think that I'll follow in your stupid hero stuff!"

Danny looked around, to see a table with a hamburger on it, a chair, and two people in the distance. One of them was wearing a three-piece suit, his face obscured by his bangs, sitting on a comfortable armchair. The other was him, Danny Phantom, standing next to the armchair and wearing a cape.

Danny groaned. The neatly dressed one shifted in his chair.

"See! You're not just a nuisance in my eyes! You can go now."

"No! I won't let any individual be left alone to your villainous scheme! He needs protection, and I'm Danny Phantom, hero! He will be safe as long as I'm around!" Danny Phantom answered.

"You will not be Danny Phantom, we talked about this, remember? If you're anyone, you would be _Phantom_. I would be Noah, and he would be Danny. Understood?"

Phantom gave Noah the evil eye, and Noah just threw his hands up and turned to Danny.

"Come on, we haven't got all day, who knows how long things will be like this. I've got you your favourite hamburgers. And please, tell this idiot he will stop being annoying?"

Danny wanted to walk towards the table, but found himself there in a flash.

"How-?"

"You're dreaming. You've had a stressful while, we all have. You'll wake up in some time, but for now, let's make use of the time we got." Noah said, conjuring a milkshake up from nowhere.

"You are safe, Danny!" Phantom piped up, with a proud smile.

Danny stared at the boy. "If he's my hero side, then you must be my Noah side."

Noah smiled creepily. "Indeed… Now let's get to business."

Danny took a bite of his hamburger, still disoriented. "What business is that?"

"I'm afraid you have to be with him for that." Noah gestured to Phantom. "He's been making all this fuss about Dan lately, it was bound to come to this."

"He's gone!" Phantom exclaimed. "He must be oppressing people somewhere for some horrible evil scheme! You must stop him, as soon as possible."

"I see." Danny said. "I'm not sure he would do that, though. He's been all about me becoming him in various ways lately."

"Don't fall for his trap! Why else would he have come with you to the past? He must have wanted something to rule or to destroy, and he already destroyed everything in his time!"

"I think Danny has made the right conclusion." Noah butted in. "I think it far more likely that he has disappeared by other means. My bet is on the earl."

"What?!" Danny exclaimed. "You mean that the earl killed Dan?!"

"Why do you care?" Noah said, sinking in his chair. "It was not like you wanted to become him, anyway."

Danny slumped forwards.

"See?" Noah said, for good measure.

"This doesn't make sense, Danny!" Phantom said. "They were like partners in crime, the Earl and Dan! Why would he kill Dan? It must be a ploy!"

"I don't know." Danny said, while Noah said: "Why indeed…"

"Come on! It's a trap! He's letting the Earl corrupt you while he himself has all the freedom to change what he wants in the past!" Phantom cried out.

"The Earl fights for the good of the world, and you know it!" Noah said with venom in his voice, and glared at Phantom, who glared right back.

"Maybe," Danny said, "maybe he was trying to prevent something by following me in the past. He has always tried to secure my becoming him, maybe there is something crucial that has to happen before I can become him."

"But why would the Earl need to kill him then? It doesn't add up. What could he do that could hurt the Earl's cause? As far as I know, their goals do not interfere with one another." Noah said, pensive.

"It doesn't matter whether they interfere!" Phantom said. "The Earl will lose anyway, remember?"

Danny was silent, and took another bite from his hamburger, before he spit it out abruptly, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"But he hasn't lost yet! And now I'm here! The Earl may have killed Dan because Dan didn't necessarily want to keep me in this time, while I bet the Earl does!"

"You mustn't let this happen, Danny, you must not help him with his so-called purge!"

But Danny didn't answer, his eyes still wide as dinner plates. It was suddenly clear as day:

This was the past.

The Earl wanted to purge humanity.

Dan came with him to make him become Dan.

The Earl killed Dan to keep Danny with him. But why would Dan oppose the Earl in the first place?

There was something crucial that had to happen before Danny could become Dan.

Danny had to be born.

"What? Danny? Come on!" Noah prodded him. "Don't leave us in the dark! Not that we aren't already, but…"

"I have to be born." Danny said, cold sweat forming on his forehead. Noah's face contorted to pure shock, as did Phantom's.

"Damn. I didn't realize that…" Noah muttered, while Phantom said: "Fudge!"

It was silent for a while, as the three took their time digesting that piece of information.

"Let's talk to Clockwork. He must know of a way to get you out of this predicament."

Phantom, for what was perhaps the first time, smiled widely at Noah. "I agree! Let's do that! What says you, Danny?"

But Danny was still staring in the distance, making frantic plans in his head.

"Danny?" Noah said, after which everything suddenly faded to white.

Danny shot up, eyes wide open, with a shout of surprise, thoroughly startling Tyki, who was standing vigil at Danny's bed.

"Tyki!" Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He was still alive.

"Hey. Good to see you back already!" Tyki smiled. "I heard you helped saving my ass at the fight. Thanks for that! Had a nice dream?"

The dream. Danny's features contorted. _The Dream_.

"I'm sorry, Tyki. I can't do this! I have to go."

_…__anny! Danny! What are you doing! Stop! Think this over!_

But Danny had already bolted out of his bed and was running towards the door, opening it to see Road.

He tried to say something. "I… I…", sweating bullets as he looked at Road, eyes full of panic.

_Stop this! Danny! There is another solution!_

Road nodded, and let him through. "Search for Bookman. He knows the entrance."

Danny looked at Road for a few more moments, and ran on.

_STOP!_

"NO!" Danny shouted. "I must get out of here! The Earl tries to destroy humanity! Only the exorcists can help me!"

**Go Danny! Don't let their schemes catch you! Good going, man! To the side of the right!**

_No, listen to yourself, damnit! Your reasoning is all over the place! The exorcists won't help you!_

"Shut up!" Danny said, tearing up while running. "Both of you! Leave me alone!"

_Danny, listen, please! You can't go! The Earl and the Noah only want what's good for you!_

**DA-NNY! DA-NNY!**

"SHUT UP!" Danny shouted as he slammed through the door towards the main hall, past the Earl.

"Danny, where are you…" The Earl tried in vain, as his face split in two and a confused eye looked at Danny, who quickly disappeared in the opening leading towards the outside.

Danny changed to ghost form, and flew. Flew towards the source of the repulsion, the source of hate he felt deep inside.

(+++++++)

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! GET HIM AWAY FROM ME! NOAH! NOAAAAAAAAAH!" The gatekeeper kept crying, tears flowing down his face. The hunched figure stood still, letting it all come over him, as he had been doing for two hours already. He had to do this. He couldn't go back anymore. He could only go forward, and hope the exorcists would help him.

_Danny…_

But there was no reasoning with Danny, his Noah knew. All he could do was wait and show Danny how right he was when he got a chance.

Even Phantom was quiet, his voice swept away by Danny's gloom and sadness.

Because Danny had hoped, he had wanted, the Noah to be his new family, his new friends.

And now they were beginning to be his new family and friends, he discovered he couldn't be with them. It wasn't fair.

The Gate opened slowly, while the Gatekeeper continued crying, and a man came out, followed by a whole squadron of other people.

The man raised some kind of daggers at his neck, innocence, Danny knew, and motioned for him to follow. Danny tried to ignore the crowd that had formed inside the building.

"MONSTER!" One cried.

"You lot killed my Frankie!" Another shouted. After that, the insults kept coming.

One threw an apple towards his head, and hit him. The one escorting him did nothing, but walk forward stony faced, letting his dagger nick the back of his neck, which led to Danny grit his teeth in pain and quicken his step.

They eventually ran out of crowd as they went down staircases, ladders and hallways, to end up in a dungeon.

"Lock him up." The escort told the guards, who cautiously did as commanded. Danny was still unresponsive, and let it all come over him.

They put him inside a cell, and closed the doors. The squadron went away, but the escort stayed.

Even Danny's Noah had the heart not to comment on the current situation, as Danny stared sadly at the cell wall.

* * *

**Finish!**

**Yes, it's me again! Many thanks to people who have stuck by my sporadic updating. Hereby the (admittedly on the short side) start of the second half of the story!**

**Then again, the whole story has been plotted out, so some chapters are bound to end up shorter. I hope you enjoyed anyway.**

**And fellas, review and favourite and follow if you liked it! Don't let my sporadic updating stop you! Maybe I'll be quicker next time, all because you reviewed! (Of course, only review if you liked it.)**

**See you again next time!**

**No.311**

**Edit: I have changed some crucial things, one grave mistake and one thing that hopefully makes it a bit clearer that Danny isn't thinking straight when he's running out of the ark. Also, Danny doesn't want to help the exorcists. Not at all. I don't know why I put that sentence in there, but it has been changed.**


	10. Chapter 10: The Consequences

_CHAPTER TEN: Consequences_

* * *

"So, my dear children!" The Earl said, as he wiped an imaginary smudge of the corners of his monstrous grin with his hanky. "You've all seen what happened with Danny. Does anyone of you know why he left?"

Lulubell laid down her cutlery. "What has the child done, master?"

The Earl sighed. "It was but yesterday that I saw my beloved Dannykins leave the building suddenly, and he wouldn't even answer my heartfelt shout out to him…" Tears fell down the Earl's still grinning face, as his brow furrowed in agony. "I do not even know whence he went…"

"Wait!" Jasdero shouted, but was smacked by Devit.

"No, wait!" Devit said, while Jasdero smacked him ("I said the same thing!")

"Danny-bro has LEFT?!" Both shouted out, arms entangled in a slapping match.

"First Skinn—" One started.

"—Now Danny-bro?!" The other finished.

"Who will play with us now?!" Jasdero said, an sad scowl on his face.

"As far as I know," Tyki butted in, "Danny hasn't even played with you."

"That's not the Point!" Devit snapped back, but before Tyki could react, the Earl had shifted his attention towards him.

"Tyki-pon! You were there when he woke up, do you know what happened?"

"Don't call me that! And no. He seemed happy to see me at first, but when I asked him how he was feeling, whether he had a nice dream or not, he suddenly became panicked, and told me that he 'just couldn't do it', or something." Tyki tucked in his salad. " 'N that's all I 'now." He said, between bites. He swallowed. "Except that he also had some kind of understanding with Road…"

"I see," The Earl said. "Road?" He turned to Road, who had been passively gazing at the conversation until now.

"You wanna know? You won't like it…" She teased.

"Come on, Road!" Tyki said, annoyed. "Don't be like that, it's annoying enough as it is! Tell us!"

"Will you do more of my homework?" Road said.

"What?" Tyki exclaimed. "What does that have to do with this!"

"Nothing, but I'd like it if you did my homework." Road smiled a predator's smile.

"Road, I'm sure Tyki wouldn't mind doing your homework. Now tell us, what is Danny doing?" The Earl said, in a rare display of concern.

"He has defected." Road dropped the bomb.

"…What?" Tyki questioned, while the twins exclaimed a very elaborately gestured "WHAAAAAAT?!".

"Master, do you need me to dispose of him?" Lulu Bell asked, turning towards the Earl.

"No, no, Lulu-dear. Let's not draw conclusions hastily. I'm sure Road isn't yet finished. Now Road, tell us why." The Earl tutted at Lulu Bell, before turning to Road.

Road shifted in her chair, and smiled. "Of course. You see, just before he woke up, he had a dream."

Tyki leaned in curiously. "A dream?!" Jasdero shouted.

"While the first part was mostly a sequence of events, probably from his past, the second part is the interesting part. It seems our Danny has trouble with accepting his Noah side."

"How so?" Tyki asked.

"He manifested his Noah side in his dream, as well as some person who looked a lot like Danny did at the fight in the old ark. They were at odds constantly. Luckily, it seemed his Noah side is gaining his trust. The problem will resolve itself." Road answered.

Tyki nodded, and Road continued.

"In the conversation, I heard several things, most of them having to do with you killing Dan, Earl."

"Oh dear" the Earl commented.

"But eventually, it seems that Danny somehow came to the conclusion that he won't be born if he helps us. He also talked about a meeting with Clockwork, a supernatural entity mentioned in some books I've read. He is said to hold dominion over time and reside in a Zone for ghosts and spirits. When he left, I gave him the hint to refer to Bookman, for he would most likely know about how to get there." Road said, seriously.

The Earl leaned backwards. "It seems Dannykins hasn't thought this trough enough."

"Yup!" Road said happily, switching back to her childish persona.

"I suppose we'd better save him from those wretched exorcists. We'll see what we can do about Danny's little paradox later." He said, "So Interesting! A human from a future earth! Perhaps that can even help us!"

"COOL!" shouted Devit.

"Lulu," The Earl turned to Lulu Bell. "Time to get the egg back. Take any akuma you need."

"Understood." Lulu Bell said.

"Road, Tyki. You know him best, so I'll send you to save Danny."

"Okay." Road agreed happily, while Tyki just nodded. Then they all stood up from the table.

"Oh, and Road, greet Sheryl for me when you get home."

"Sure!" Road answered the Earl.

As the Earl saw them leave, a few akuma came at his side with a flick of his hand.

"Search for ways to enter this Zone of Ghosts. We wouldn't want to disappoint dear Dannykins after all. I'll send some others to help you after Lulu returns."

"Right away, sir." One of them answered, as they left too.

The Earl sighed. Such foolish children he had… But Danny was not lost to him, not yet. He'd be sure to get him back before it'd go that far.

(+++++++)

Danny sat against the wall, listening to the water that was dripping on the ground. He was cold, far colder than he had been recently.

His guards had dropped their guard long ago, and were now playing a certain card game he didn't know. It looked quite difficult, with cards with all kinds of drawings on them, and Danny had tried to follow it for a while, but failed.

_Danny. Surely, by now, you have seen the error of your way. Just escape._

No. Danny wouldn't escape. He had nowhere else to go. He had betrayed the Earl and the Noah, this dark cell was only fitting. It wouldn't do to piss off the 'heroes', as Phantom called them, too.

Danny concentrated on the dripping again, with heavy heart. He should have thought things through.

_While I do agree, Danny, now is not the time. We should think of a way out of this mess._

Where was Phantom anyway? He had not heard of Phantom since his escape.

_He's closed off himself, sitting and staring at the ground. I think he didn't quite expect the 'heroes' to react that way._

Ah.

Danny was silent once more. How long did he have to wait? Luckily, the exorcists had closed off this area for the public, or he'd be stoned to death. Lucky him. He grimaced.

After a while, he heard footsteps. He stood up expectantly, leading to one guard scowling (once again) at him and quickly end the game. After a few minutes, a man appeared. He was smartly dressed and his most defining feature was the toothbrush moustache on his sharp face.

"Hello, Noah. I will cut to the chase. Why are you here?" He said.

Danny wanted to answer, but was cut off.

"Or better, why haven't you attacked yet?" The man said, inquiringly. "I'm surprised that you were let in in the first place, and that you were not killed on the spot. It simply won't do to have idiots manning the door. They'll let the Earl in at this rate!" The man breathed in deeply, before continuing, more calmly, more smoothly. "I will, of course, have them punished as well as I can for that. You have my word, Noah. We don't need little kids as our soldiers." He said, in an authoritative tone.

A cold sweat ran up Danny's back, and the cold stayed even after the sweat had gone away.

"Now. Let's start. It's one of my policies to do everything to win this war, and now you're here anyway, I'm willing to barter with you," he said, seriously. "Tell me. What do you want from our side?" The man clicked his fingers, and a chair was brought in by one of his subordinates. He sat down.

Danny was silent, bangs before his eyes, knowing not whether to answer or not.

_Danny, this is not the time to hesitate! __You__ wanted this, make sure you do it right. But beware, this man is dangerous._

"Nothing?" The man said, while his eyes narrowed. "Then there is nothing—"

"I want your help." Danny said, resolutely. Noah was right, this was not the time to hesitate. It was now or never.

"HA!" The man shouted out, which caused one guard to take a step backwards, startled. "A Noah that wants our help!" The man laughed. "Marvellous." A predatory grin spread on his face. "Thanks to you, boy, we may gain a chance to finally win the war!" He breathed deeply, and leaned back on his chair, recomposing himself, a frown again prominently there.

"And what do you want?"

"I have come to find 'Bookman'. If you bring him here, I'll explain what I want."

The man snapped his fingers. One of the guards drew closer.

"No, not you." The man said. "The other one. Do you think that a person who can't even handle a sudden action from their superior is fit to be anything other than a message delivery boy?"

The first guard stepped backwards again, giving the other guard a look of pity, while the other guard drew forward.

"You heard the boy. Get Bookman here."

The guard hurried away.

"Do you want cake, Noah? I've baked it myself. A man has got to have his hobbies, I suppose." The man took a cake from seemingly nowhere and sliced off a piece, putting it on a saucer he had taken out of his coat. He took a fork out of his pocket and took a bite.

Danny shook his head.

"Don't forget your position, _prisoner_. I have kindly offered you cake, and when I offer you cake, you _will_ eat cake." The man sliced off another piece and handed it to a reluctant Danny, who took a bite.

"And? I'm quite confident in my cakes, but normally the people who eat it are also under my command, so I want to hear it from someone unaffiliated with the Exorcists."

_Answer him truthfully, Danny._

Danny took a bite, and his eyes widened a little.

"It's quite good." He said.

The man breathed out. "That's a relief. I wouldn't want to unintentionally submit anyone under my care to poisonously bad cake..."

Danny shuddered, as the corners of the man's mouth twitched upwards.

The dungeon was silent, save for the occasional chewing sounds that came from Danny as he steadily ate the cake that had been forced upon him. It was just before the last bite that the soldier returned, followed by an old man, with sunken eyes which had a darker colour than the rest of his face. He wore some kind of Chinese garb, and was kind of short.

"This, dear Noah…" the man said grandly, "Is Bookman. Now, explain to me what you want. Perhaps, if I'm in a good mood, I'll even let him answer your questions!"

"Remember, Leverrier. I am not yours to command." Bookman intervened, but Leverrier seemed undeterred.

"But you want to see history in the making, right? And for now, you want to do that here, in the building of the exorcists. So you'd better work along with us for that time being. Now, boy. Out with it!"

"I… I want to find something." Danny started.

"Yes?" Leverrier interrupted impatiently, with another predatory grin on his face, "What is it you want to find?"

_Tricky. Tell them, Danny. If you don't, they'll probably not help you._

Danny collected himself.

"Ghost portals." Danny turned to Bookman, whose eyes had widened for a fraction of a second, before looking back to Leverrier, who was frowning sternly at him.

"I'm not an idiot, boy. Do not take me for one. I could have you killed. And I will, unless you give me something substantial to work with."

"He is probably quite serious, Leverrier. 'Ghost Portals'… I have heard of them. They are mythical, said to give access to a realm of ghosts unlike any ghost met before. They are said to have a great variety of powers, and they can be reasoned with."

Leverrier cocked one eyebrow. "And you, Noah, are saying they are real?"

_Yes._

"Yes." Danny answered.

"And they are filled with powerful beings that can help us win this war?" Leverrier asked, genuinely excited.

_…__Technically speaking, they could. _

"Yes."

Bookman looked at Danny curiously, but kept silent.

"Of course, we can, and will find them." Leverrier said, back to his collected persona. "However, what is to say that we should let you near them?"

Danny opened his mouth, and closed it again. What?

Leverrier had stood up. "I'll tell you what. I would have loved to research your black matter alignment, but this war has drawn on for too long. Kill two Noah's, and we'll call it even. Of course, we will be keeping a very close eye on you, even after we found you your 'Portal'."

He turned towards the door, and smiled at Danny, whose face had contorted in horror.

"I'll see you soon enough, Noah. I've got lots of cakes for you to try." He smiled nicely, even though nobody was fooled.

Then, he left with Bookman, leaving Danny in silence.

_Danny. This is it. You will have to choose. How far are you willing to go?_

But his Noah didn't understand it. Not truly. He wouldn't be there anymore if the Noah succeeded. It was a paradox, one that ended in his certain doom.

_Or is it you that doesn't understand? They are your family. I bet that the earl is looking to help you at this moment already. Have more faith in your family, Danny. That's, in essence, all I want to impart on you. The most important thing to learn as a Noah. I thought you got it at the old ark, but now…_

And Danny sat himself down against the stone wall, silent, and knew that his Noah was right. But this had to be done. And the Noah weren't here... He had to think of something…

Danny shivered, once again, as he slowly fell asleep from exhaustion, dreaming of choices and family and death.

* * *

**So, that's all for today, folks. You can send me reviews for questions, and when I find out that I have forgotten stuff, I will change it and I'll tell you all. Please tell me if you see a mistake, for I found this story finished in my DGM document, which is strange, because there would have been some reason for it to be not posted immediately after it was finished, but I couldn't remember any reason, so I posted it anyway.**

**Any criticism is welcome, as long as it isn't just a thinly veiled insult. So constructive criticism is very nice.**

**No.311**


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